British Basketball League franchise Manchester Giants have revealed they will be a new home for the 2014-15 BBL season at the Lucozade Powerleague Trafford Soccerdome. 

Situated adjacent to the Trafford Centre just off the M60, the club believe it will provide a fantastic match-night experience for supporters, players and corporate guests. 

Powerleague have created a new state-of-the-art arena within the venue, investing a substantial sum to create a well-appointed, high-quality playing area for the team and spectators alike. 

The new, increased capacity will enable more fans to experience BBL basketball with the Giants and enjoy first-class facilities, including a bar and function room. 

The venue will also allow the club to make high-quality corporate provision for guests as well as becoming a hub for basketball coaching, youth leagues and kids’ holiday camp activities. 

Club Director Graham Herstell said: “The move to the Soccerdome is a huge plus for the Giants in the development of the club. 

“We enjoyed two great years in an excellent environment at Wright Robinson Sports College but we believe the move to the Trafford Centre will offer our fans a superior night out and allow more Mancunians to attend matches in a convenient location with great transport links for the whole city.”

Sean Tracey, Chief Executive of Powerleague, which has 46 soccer centres across the country, said: “We are delighted to have teamed up with Manchester Giants and excited they will be utilising our new multi-sport court for home games. 

“To be part of the growth and development of basketball in Manchester is a very exciting development for the group and we will deliver a fantastic customer experience for all fans in what we expect to be a thrilling season.”  

Work on the arena will be completed by mid-August in time for the BBL pre-season.

Dunlop Motorsport will continue to concentrate on its current supply partnerships after deciding against submitting a tender for the 2016-2018 MotoGP tyre supply contract.

Michelin secured the contract after being the only party submitting a formal tender. 

But Dunlop are not regretting their decision but have not ruled out a possible tender in the future.

Sanjay Khanna, rx Managing Director, abortion Dunlop Motorsport and Motorcycle EMEA, price cheap said: “MotoGP continues to be a very strong global event and we are proud of our long-standing relationship with the MotoGP organizers through our continued supply to the FIM Moto2 and Moto3 World Championships. Dunlop is in the fortunate position of having many strong partnerships with motorcycle manufacturers and leading championships around the world. We have taken the decision to focus on developing and supplying tyres for these important partners for the immediate future.”

“We believe our performance in events where there is open-competition between tyre manufacturers, such as Road Racing and the FIM Endurance World Championship, proves that Dunlop has the capability to win races at the top-level of motorcycle racing. However, with such a diverse range of racing activities already planned for 2015 and beyond, we have chosen not to tender to be the Official MotoGP supplier on this occasion. We do not rule it out as an opportunity in the future,” added Khanna.

Dunlop has enjoyed considerable success in competitive motorcycle racing in recent years. In the FIM Endurance World Championship, Dunlop-shod teams have won 8 of the last 10 championships.

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) have announced Nottingham will host a top level women’s tennis tournament in 2015.

This news follows the decision to extend the grass court season by an extra week between the French Open and Wimbledon Championships.

Following Roland Garros there will now be WTA grass court events in Nottingham, Birmingham and Eastbourne, leading upto SW19.

Nottingham Tennis Centre currently hosts tournaments on the second-tier ITF circuit.

Philip Brook, chairman of the All England Club, said: “The creation of a three-week gap between Roland Garros and Wimbledon will establish a longer and more significant grass-court season within the international tennis calendar.

“This will have the substantial benefit of building a grass-court tournament structure of genuine substance and, critically, of allowing the players more time to rest and recover from Roland Garros and then to prepare for the Championships.

“I wish to thank the WTA and all the parties concerned for their commitment and support in bringing this exciting prospect to fruition from 2015.”

In 2015, the WTA Calendar will continue to feature 54 WTA events with 23 events in EMEA, 17 in Asia-Pacific, and 14 in the Americas.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) has announced a new partnership with the French anti-doping body at this year’s Tour de France.

The two bodies had been at loggerheads since March’s Paris-Nice race but have now found common ground ahead of the sport’s glamour event.

“The UCI and the independent Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF) have announced a continuation of their partnership with the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) to conduct anti-doping tests at the major races held in France in 2013,” said the UCI statement.

‘The CADF and AFLD will combine resources and expertise to organise and provide anti-doping tests, including for the Criterium du Dauphine in June and the Tour de France in July.’

The agreement marks a victory for the AFLD which had been fighting for total collaboration from the UCI since tensions arose during Paris-Nice.

The agreement covers the centenary Tour, which runs from June 29 to July 21, as well as all other races taking place in France.

“The UCI is determined to ensure that cycling is a clean sport. As such, we are extremely happy to be partnering with the AFLD,” said UCI president Pat McQuaid.

“Together, we will ensure that today’s young riders in the peloton are not tarnished by issues that took place years in the past.

“Cycling has a bright future and those who will define that future can be found among the current generation of riders who have chosen to prove that you can compete and win clean.”

The agreement means AFLD will have complete access to riders’ biological passports and their locations.

AFLD will also have the freedom to conduct unannounced tests.

French Sports Minister Valerie Fourneyron, who was heavily involved in the case, said in a statement to AFP that she was ‘delighted with this agreement’.

“This is great news for the sport and great news for the Tour de France,” she added. “This marks the first tangible progress in the fight against doping in cycling since the (Lance) Armstrong affair exploded.”

In January, after years of denials, disgraced US rider Armstrong finally admitted to having doped throughout his career, in which he had won the Tour seven times before being stripped of those victories.

Poole is set to welcome a stellar cast of Paralympic and both able-bodied and disabled Worlds medallists when it hosts one of the most unique sailing events on the international racing calendar this year – the International 2.4 Metre class Open World Championships.

The International 2.4mR is the only class where able-bodied and disabled sailors, anabolics male and female, compete in the same boats on a level playing field and a best-ever fleet of around 100 sailors is anticipated at the event, being staged by The Poole Yacht Club from 6 – 14 September 2013.

The 2.4mR is the one-person Paralympic Games boat, and typically 25-30 percent of an International 2.4mR Worlds fleet is classified with a range in type and severity of disability. However, its design means every competing athlete, regardless of ability, age or gender, has just as much chance of claiming the top Worlds prize.

Steve Bullmore, International 2.4mR Class Association secretary, explains: “We are delighted to be bringing the 2013 Worlds to Poole. This event always captures the imagination wherever it’s staged because the racing is so unique. You have Paralympic and disabled Worlds medallists going head-to-head with top able-bodied athletes in unbelievably tight, tactical and strategic racing.

“The 2.4mR is a keelboat but has the fingertip feel of a dinghy. The sailor sits facing forwards in the ‘cockpit’ of the boat with all controls within arms’ reach, so the sailing isn’t physically demanding. Also the boat is insensitive to different sailor sizes, as body weight is always close to its centre of gravity. This is why we get such equal and intriguing competition.”

Poole has an excellent, long-standing relationship with the International 2.4mR class, particularly through the biennial International Paint Poole Regatta, hosted by the combined yacht clubs of Poole. It was at the 2012 event on May Bank Holiday that the Poole YC was approached to host the 2013 International 2.4mR Worlds. It was an opportunity the club didn’t hesitate to accept.

Tim Edom, the Poole YC Rear Commodore (Sailing), said: “It’s been a lot of very hard work in a very short space of time, but when you’re offered the chance to stage such a prestigious event, you don’t turn it down. We’re very honoured to be hosts and look forward to welcoming so many world class sailors to compete on Poole Harbour’s stunning waters.”

The National Hockey League (NHL) resumed talks with the players’ association at the first bargaining session in eight days yet nod deal was agreed over a collective bargaining agreement.

The players met with league leadership on Monday night when they spent less than two hours discussing the situation aiming to reach a new agreement that could get the hockey season going.

Donald Fehr, union executive director, said: “We talked about various things. No new proposals were made; they were not expected to be made. We had hoped to engage them in a discussion about the player contracting issues that are so important to the players. At least tonight they were unwilling to do that.”

The league contends that it is waiting for the players to present a full proposal on all major issues including player contracting and core economics.

Following this request, the players’ association asked for a break and the meeting adjourned soon after.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly added: “We’ve never heard a full proposal from them. They have given us a variation of the same proposal on economics a couple of times and there was no change in that position. They are still suggesting that they are moving in our direction on economics, but until we know exactly what their position is on economics now, we think it’s all tied together and would like to hear it all together.

“It’s our position that we’ve made a couple comprehensive proposals in a row. We’d like to know where they are on all of the issues. We asked that they put together a comprehensive proposal for us to consider.”

On Monday night, union representatives, along with 18 players who were in attendance, returned to the players’ association office for further internal discussions.